Description of Historic Place

This wood shingled church is located prominently on Grafton Street in Georgetown. It features a rectangular sanctuary with a gable roof. A square tower clips the front gable and has a side entrance. The tower roof is flat with four finials rising from each corner. A crenellation design carved on four boards connects each of the finials. Tall Gothic pointed arch windows with tracery are arranged on the facade. The top three panes of these contain coloured glass. The back of the building features a gable roofed porch with side entrance.

Heritage Value

The church is valued for its well preserved Gothic Revival style; for its historical association with Rev. George Monro Grant; and for its contribution to the Town of Georgetown.

Presbyterian settlers had come to the Three Rivers area and Georgetown as early as 1774. However, the property for this church was not granted until 1837 by Lieutenant Governor, Charles Fitzroy. It then comprised Town Lots 11 and 12. The first minister was Rev. Roderick MacAulay who had the church constructed at some point between 1837 and 1841. The first baptism was recorded in October of 1854.

The church was then affiliated with the Church of Scotland. It was served by supply preachers in the years which followed. These included: Rev. John Keir of Princetown; Rev. John MacLennan of Belfast; Rev. John Geddie of Cavendish; and Rev. William Snodgrass of Charlottetown.

In 1856, the Colonial Committee of the Church of Scotland sent out Rev. Andrew Lougheed to serve Georgetown. He remained until July of 1860 when he returned to Scotland, accepting a charge at Paisley.

He was replaced with Pictou County Nova Scotia native, the Rev. George Monro Grant, who was inducted on June 28, 1861. He had recently graduated from the University of Glasgow and had served in River John, Nova Scotia. He only spent two years on PEI, but during that time, he worked to increase the cause of his church in the colony. A manse was erected in Georgetown, and two other churches - St. Columba's in Marshfield and St. Andrew's in Harrington were constructed. His abilities were rewarded further in 1863, when he was invited to become the minister of Halifax's St. Matthew's Church. He would remain there until 1877, when he replaced Principal Snodgrass as the leader of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He would become a legend in this role until his death in 1902.

St. David's became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1875 and later voted to join the United Church of Canada in 1925. In recent years, the church has been renovated to reflect its earlier appearance.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/TR28

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the church is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the wood framed rectangular sanctuary with gable roof
- the entrance tower with flat roof, finials, crenellation, and louvres on three sides
- the wood shingle cladding with scallop shingles near the top of the tower
- the series of Gothic arch windows with tracery in the side elevations
- the symmetrically placed Gothic arch windows with tracery on the front elevation in the tower and on either side of the tower
- the small gable roofed porch with eave returns on the back of the building